So, I had the original white Gameboy back in the day (that day being when I had all of my hair, my belly didn’t overhang my jeans slightly and all I worried about was making it out of school without a detention).
Moving on from my Gameboy I went to the Spectrums, Amiga, Sega Consoles, Microsoft Consoles, PS3 and many many Gaming PC’s. So with all of these gaming options, of which non are Nintendo – why have I bought a switch? Here is why;
It’s a lifestyle thing. Life changes and things move on. I have now moved to China from the UK (not to be an English Teacher) and I don’t have time for the big sessions that I used to have (no more booking 2 weeks off work for the launch of the next Fallout or Elder Scrolls). My time is so limited that recently my PC and Xbox One X have turned into expensive dust collectors, even though there are games waiting to be played. What I do have is the odd hour in an evening and a ton of time when I am travelling and flying.
Switching it up. I have never seen the advantage of a handheld. Underpowered performance, limited battery life and a games selection that never really interested me (I am not really a big fan of first party Nintendo games, sorry). However, in my opinion, the Switch has finally nailed 2/3 important things; 1) Good battery life (with the new version) and performance. 2) Decent third-party games support. Finally you can now hold a near games console quality device in your hands and pick it up whenever you want, without kicking the family off the TV. You can also pick it up and take it wherever you go and just carry on with what you are doing. I have to say it is pretty liberating. I can understand why other companies are now seriously looking at cloud game streaming services.
The Hardware
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Screen. I thought going from 65” 4K down to 6” 720p would mean that at home, I would have to hook it up to my monitor or a TV. It turns out I was wrong and the bright, crisp display really does shine and games look fantastic. Comparing LA Noire, Skyrim and Doom 3 to the console versions I have to say that the Switch screen is very good to excellent when you think that you are holding these games in your hand.
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Performance. The Switch is basically a tablet. Ok the processor can apparently hit 1 TFlops, but you can tell that the system suffers from its lack of graphics card and the enhancements these bring (jagged pixels and hugely reduced lighting effects). This being said, I think Nintendo have been perfect with the compromises that they had to make and given the price point, battery life and portability - I don’t think there is much more they could of done. Also, if it can run Witcher 3……
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Joy Cons. Now these I don’t like for several reasons. The right hand buttons are too close to the analog stick. The +/- are very small and difficult to get at and too shallow/don’t protrude enough. The analogue stick springs are not firm enough making the sticks very light. The compromise to allow you to detach the joycons and play 2 player games means no D-Pad. And the worst part for me is the movement of the joycons front to back in the rails which means it doesn’t feel rigid. You also have the possible drift issue, but at least the analogue sticks are easy to replace.
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Ergonomics. I have big hands and the Switch as supplied is horrible to hold even for a short time. There is no way to stabilise and firmly grip it in your hands as its just flat. Thankfully Skull & Co stepped in with their Switch case which was a revolution for the comfort factor AND it solved my flex issue with the joycons. The fact that they also supply a case which carries my big Anker switch battery along with a switch mains power block, 10 games, my phones backup battery and the required cables is a huge bonus when travelling. As for the overall size, I think again, that Nintendo have come up with the perfect size compromise and I have no issues when using it on buses and planes. I would rather have the screen size over a smaller switch lite.
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Headphone Port/3.5mm Jack. Well done Nintendo. When travelling for a long time, headphones always end up running out of power. With the headphone jack you only have to worry about how much power is left on the Switch. I went with Steelseries Pro DAC headphones as I prefer wired and its great that I am able to use them on the Switch.
Software
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Nintendo e-Shop. So the e-shop comes in for quite a bit of flack. It was a little strange being flicked from console to laptop to console. However it did what it needed to do. I was able to download Doom 3 and the BotW DLC without any issues once I had set it up with paypal. I think Nintendo were not ready for the huge library they have managed to build up with the success of the Switch, but at least it gets the job done for a cheap subscription price. I would also note that Microsoft and Playstation took a long time to sort out their online offerings…
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BotW. 10/10 best game ever? Well, as an RPG player I am not sure I would go that far. Not when you have Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Dragon Age, Witcher and the Mass Effect trilogy. The game is very pretty and the art direction is in keeping with a Zelda game. Having to prepare for the boss fights early game and forcing you to make your own potions is something not many games do now. The mechanics in the game are very good and it is enjoyable to play. The biggest down side is really a lack of NPC characters and interactions. You don’t become emotionally attached as you would in Mass Effect for example. The lack of NPC’s also means you cant join factions like in Elder Scrolls and simply wander around listening to peoples stories or getting interesting side quests.
The divine beasts are good fun for both the puzzles and the boss fights. There is also a ton of things to find throughout the world and the shrine puzzles add some good variety to the game after you have spent ages running away from bad guys because you cant be bothered to break your weapons. -
Air Conflicts Collection. A nice change of pace game that you can pick up and put down. A bit difficult to spot what you should be shooting at and the targeting is very arcade.
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LA Noire. Have this game on console. Looks really good on the switch actually and I am looking forward to getting to the end. It sucks up a lot of time trying to figure things out of don’t cheat and read the guides.
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Darksiders 1. I missed this when it first came out. Looking forward to getting a chance at the remastered version on a handheld.
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Skyrim. It seems it has been patched up a bit by Bethesda. Spent a few hours playing it and I have to say I am impressed with how well it runs. Basically reminds me of the Xbox 360 version.
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Diablo 3. An old classic that I was pleased to see had come to the switch. From the brief time I have played it, it seems pretty much like the original.
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Bayonetta 2. Not my usual sort of game but thought that I would pick it up but as I have a switch now, I thought it was worth trying it out. The graphics look nice and it runs very well from the brief time I have played it.
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Zelda Links Awakening. As I noted before I missed out all of the handheld devices. However this looks like how the old one page scrollers I remember from the Gameboy should look. It really does look beautiful and even though it is a modern game, it took me back to the Gameboy days. I am looking forward to more time on it.
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Dark Souls. Another game I missed over the years and I am looking forward to playing. Spent a few hours on it and it looks fantastic and plays really really well.
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Mario + Rabbids Kingdom battle. This game is brilliant! Cartoon graphics but a great depth to the strategy. Bought this as a stab in the dark but it is great fun if you enjoy battle/strategy
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Mario kart 8. I have actually been playing this quite a bit in tabletop mode with the wife. Is really good fun to play! I have not played Mario cart since N64 days, but I fell straight back into it on my first race. The courses are more complex, but otherwise it is a really good looking Mario kart that gives you a good feeling of speed. I am also really impressed that we can both see what we are doing on split screen when the screen is so small!
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Super Mario Odyssey. So far I have only put this on to look at the graphics and wow is it a good looking game. Mario/platformers are not really something I usually play, but this looks like the beauty of the game alone will keep me hooked for a while.
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Doom 3. Doom 3, on an plane shooting stuff. This is a BRILLIANT port of the original. By far the fastest feeling switch game and the graphics are really a step up from Bethesda when you compare it to Skyrim. The screen is a little small for this one, but it is a great FPS for the Switch and something that the Switch needed to give it some game diversity.
I am also looking forward to getting my hands on Witcher 3 (just because), Astral Chain, Octopath Traveler, Dragons Dogma, Fire Emblem, Deadly Premonition, Pine, Assasins Creed (not played this since the first game) and Planescape:Torment
Summary
I have not really been a fan of Nintendo and their family orientated gaming experience. However, the great first and third party game lineup (even if some of these are ports) really makes a difference for the switch if you have not played the ports before. The hardware is a little bit last generation console but having all that power in your hands is well worth having if you travel or have constraints on your time. The fact that with an external battery you can game on the go for over 15 hours really makes this a traveler’s best friend.
Submitted September 25, 2019 at 09:16AM by redditinchina https://ift.tt/2lAZ6in
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